Videocon buys 2,000 acres in WB for steel project

The Videocon group, which signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the West Bengal government for a Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) steel and power project last month, has directly negotiated with land losers near Asansol for 2,000 acres.

The direct negotiation with the landowners was a clear deviation from the West Bengal government's stance that the land would be acquired by the government agency West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).

Venugopal Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group said, the group had negotiated with 250 landowners who hold around 2,000 acres for land. Around 95 per cent of the landowners pted for compensation in the form of cash.

The group had also given an option of shares in the proposed joint venture being set up for the project. However, most of the landowners monetary compensation. The package was over and above the one job offered to each family by the company.

Videocon is yet to take possession of the land since the West Bengal Urban Land Ceiling Act does not permit acquisition of such large tracts of land by industry.